Picking Up The Pieces
by TrekkieL
Summary: One-shot, I think. When some rift activity causes an explosion, Ianto's live is at risk and Jack will stop at nothing to save him and Owen finally realises how much Jack and Ianto mean to each other. Janto! Mush, fluff and angst all around. Jack/Ianto and (not much) Tosh/Owen. Mentions of Countrycide. Rated T for swearing. Rubbish at summeries. THIS IS AN UPDATED VERSION!


**Ok. I've had this plot bunny for a while and it won't go away so I just had to write this. **

**WARNING: a bit of swearing, I acctually hate to swear in my fanfics, but I figured, This is Torchwood and it increases the drama.**

**I do not own Torchwood. If I did, Ianto would be immortal, Tosh and Owen would still be alive and Gwen would be happy with Rhys.**

"I'm going to go home now, sir." Ianto informed Jack as he entered his office, carrying a large box of things from the archives. "Is this the last box, sir?" he asked, setting the box down next to Jack's desk. Jack looked up from the alien artefact he was holding.

"Yes, thank you. You're free to go, Ianto." Jack smiled. Ianto turned to leave, but stopped at the door and turned back to face Jack.

"Sir, could we..?" Jack looked up again.

"Call me Jack, Ianto. It's after work hours. Now, what were you saying?"

"Umm… it doesn't matter." Ianto shrugged and went to walk out the door.

"Ianto, come here." Jack ordered. Ianto obeyed and stood in front of Jack. Jack smiled again and took Ianto's face in his hands, bringing them together for a kiss. When they broke away, Ianto straightened his tie.

Jack smiled. Ianto returned his own smile. Jack's heart pounded at Ianto's smile. It was a genuine smile, the most beautiful part of Ianto, even if he didn't show it often enough. Maybe that's why his smiles were so special.

"Thanks." Ianto grinned. "Well, I'm off. See you tomorrow, Jack." Jack watched as Ianto turned and made his way to the cog door before disappearing from view. He sighed. He could have driven Ianto home, but Tosh had been taken ill that morning so he had no-one to look out for rift activity. He frowned again as he thought about how rarely Ianto did smile. It wasn't very often. Jack made a mental note to ask Ianto about that in the morning.

Jack spent the night doing the paperwork that so desperately needed to be done. After that, he attempted to use the coffee machine. He never tried to use it when Ianto was around. He never had a chance. Ianto was not one to let people use his coffee machine. Whilst he was attempting to make himself a cup of coffee, the machine grinded to a halt and cogs fell out the back.

"Who the heck designed this thing?" Jack mumbled to himself. "This is not good. Ianto's not gonna be very happy." He picked up the mug and replaced it in the cupboard before deciding to get a bottle of water from the fridge. His mind cast back to Ianto.

He wondered if Ianto should start training as a field agent. He did well enough in the countrycide, Jack thought. Ianto had risked his life to help Tosh escape and find the others. He almost died on that mission. Jack shuddered. He remembered how scared Ianto had looked when he burst through the doors, guns blazing, as ever the hero. Ianto was so young. And to think what would have happened if he had been too late.

On the way home from that mission, Jack had confessed his love for Ianto.

* * *

_Tosh had was asleep, her head on Ianto's lap. After what had happened between the two, Ianto and Tosh had grown closer. As scared as he was, Ianto had been there for Tosh. He had helped her escape, he had reasured her and comforted her when she broke down._

_Jack looked in the mirror at the two, who were sat in the back of the SUV. Gwen and Owen had been taken to the hospital in an ambulance, so it was just the three of them. Ianto was half-asleep, resting his head on the window and absent-mindedly running a hand through Tosh's hair as she slept. He was looking at Jack, but when he got caught staring, he quickly turned his attention to Tosh. _

_"You ok, Yan?" Jack broke the uncomfortable silence. Ianto didn't look up._

_"I haven't been called Yan in 10 years." Ianto muttered._

_"Sorry." Jack apologised._

_"No. I like it."_

_"Back to the question. Are you ok?"_

_"No." Ianto replied bluntly. __"Um... Jack? Can you look at the road when you're driving? I'd rather not die today, and I'm sure Tosh wouldn't be too happy either." Jack turned his attention to the road._

_"Ianto? I think I... well, I know I... You hate me... for Lisa... but I..." Jack stumbled to find the right words._

_"Jack? Just tell me."_

_"I Love you, Yan."_

_"I Love you too." Ianto said quickly, almost immediatly after Jack._

_"That's good." Jack smiled at Ianto, who smiled back, but they didn't say anything more._

* * *

He handled the situation pretty well that time they found the meat-creature. The men had grabbed Ianto and held him at gunpoint to lure Jack and Gwen out of their hiding place. They did and Rhys ended up taking a bullet meant for Gwen. That was when Ianto broke free and fought with the men. When he ended up on the ground and unsuccessfully shot, Jack had only told him to run after the other guys. Now, Jack realised how Ianto must have felt and he must have thought Jack hadn't cared.

Now Jack realised why Ianto hardly ever smiled. What was the point of pretending to be happy if you weren't? Why would you smile if no-one noticed you, if you lived and worked in the shadows? It wasn't hard to understand really. No-one acknowledged Ianto, so he stayed out the way, cleaning up what they couldn't be bothered to clean up themselves. Ianto was right when he said no-one asked him anything about him. Jack sighed and vowed to make Ianto feel a part of the team.

As he was trying to shove cogs back into the broken coffee machine, he glanced at his watch. 2:00 AM. Jack sighed at how it felt like he had been working for several hours, when he'd only been on his own for 3 hours. 1 hour obviously thinking about Ianto, one hour writing reports and trying to mend the coffee machine with the last hour.

As he was trying to figure out how to put the back on the machine, the alarms blared and blinding red lights flashed. Jack ran to the computer to see what was happening. Not understanding the code on the left hand side, he phoned Tosh.

"This is Tosh speaking."

"Hey, Tosh, it's Jack. The alarms are going off and I'm sorry I woke you but I don't understand what these codes mean." Suddenly, the cog door opened and in walked Tosh, with her phone to her ear and her laptop bag.

"You didn't wake me Jack and I'm on my way." She spoke down the phone and hung up. "I'm here."

"That was quick." Jack smirked and put his phone back in his pocket. "How?"

"I was on a night drive anyway, couldn't get to sleep. I connected my mobile to the main computer so when it detects something, it sends a message to my phone and I hurry along to work to see what my boss can't figure out for himself." Tosh explained. Jack laughed.

"There. Sorry to call you in when you don't feel well..." Tosh shrugged and told him she was feeling better anyway. Jack pointed to the computer, then Tosh entered a few codes and it zoomed in on the map, a small area covered in a red dot.

"What the… Jack? There are signs of rift activity but there's been an explosion. I didn't realise rifts could cause explosions." Tosh admitted. Jack looked at the screen.

"Can you zoom in on the point of explosion?" Jack asked. Tosh immediately began imputing new information into the computer and the map zoomed, showing a block of flats and a few houses under the red dot. The realisation hit Jack.

"That's where Ianto lives!" he half yelled at Toshiko. Tosh's expression turned to complete concern as she whipped out her phone. Jack ran to his office and grabbed his military coat before returning to Toshiko.

"He's not picking up his mobile and his home phone's been disabled. The line probably cut in the explosion... I can call Gwen, Rhys and Owen if you want." Jack shook his head.

"It's half two in the morning so leave Gwen and Rhys. We're gonna need Owen as soon as possible." Jack sighed and ran to the cog door. Tosh ran after him with her laptop bag over her shoulder. "Come on, we'll take the SUV."

Jack drove to Ianto's as Tosh phoned Owen. She tried his home phone and his mobile, but Owen didn't pick up so she left a message on both phones. 'Owen, we need you at Ianto's flat as soon as possible. There's been an accident and Ianto might be hurt.' Then, she phoned the fire brigade. They arrived outside Ianto's flat as she hung up.

"Ianto!" Jack cried out as they pulled up outside the now burning building. He grimaced as he opened the door, only to be greeted by the bitter smell of thick smoke. Jack looked around the area. There were crowds of people. Some who have evacuated, some who were comforting loved ones and some who just stopped to see what was happening. Jack's heart sank when he couldn't see Ianto.

"Tosh, I can't see Ianto. And where the bloody hell is Owen?" Jack yelled, pulling off his great coat and throwing it in the van. He turned to Tosh, who had her mobile to her ear.

"Owen! Pick up the bloody phone will ya?" after a moment, Tosh spoke again. Owen had obviously picked up the phone. "Owen, it's Tosh." Jack ran over and told her to put the phone on load speaker so he could hear him.

"And Jack."

"What the hell do you want?" Owen mumbled.

"Didn't you get my messages? We need you here now, Owen. Where are you?"

"Yes, I got your messages and I'm in bed, like any normal person would be at two-thirty in the morning."

_Yeah but you're not a normal person._ Jack thought, and then he regained his senses.

"What the hell are you still doing in bed? Get your hands off whatever whore you picked up this time and get to Ianto's flat, pronto!" Jack roared. Tosh sighed. God help Owen.

"Well, Jack. It's half two in the morning, I'd rather be here and the fact it's supposed to be my day off…"

"For fuck's sake, Owen, Ianto's flat exploded!" Tosh screamed. There was a bang from the other end of the line.

"…Shit!" Owen sounded like he'd just fallen out of bed. "Ok, I'm on my way." Owen hung up. Jack looked at Tosh, who had tears in her eyes.

"I'm going in Tosh. Wait here and load up your computer." Jack yelled, running into the blazing building. Jack found Ianto's apartment automatically, his brain not catching up with his legs. The halls were thick with black smoke and the lifts had been disabled, so he ran up the stairs, 3 at a time, until he found Ianto's apartment. Jack began to cough violently, but kept his mind on finding Ianto.

"Tosh," Jack put a hand to his ear. "Phone his mobile." There was silence for a few seconds, apart from the cackling of fire. Jack was worried about anything that would be likely to explode in the flat. He knew there was a bar downstairs and that the alcohol ranged from weak to strong, but he would deal with that when it happened, if it happened. A silvery sound tore through the air as Jack followed it. It led him upstairs and to Ianto's bedroom, but Ianto wasn't there. The mobile was on the bedside table, only just visible by the dim light emitting from the small lamp. Jack picked up the phone and slid it in his pocket before running into the en-suite. He clicked his earpiece.

"Tosh, he's not got his phone on him. It was in the bedroom and his lamp was on."

"Ok, Jack. You know Ianto better than any of us. What would Ianto do if he were to have a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep? Where would he go?" Tosh questioned. Jack thought.

"He would go downstairs and make himself some tea and watch cheesy cartoon to try and get back to sleep. If not, he would come back to the HUB and stay with me. Tosh, you are a genius!" he laughed as he ran towards the stairs. "Damn it!"

"Owen's just arrived. What's wrong?" Tosh asked.

"The stairs, they're blocked. The fire started spreading up." Jack replied.

"That means the rooms below are going to be in flames!" Tosh realised. "Jack, you've got to get Ianto." Jack didn't need telling twice as hung up and threw himself down the stairs. He groaned in pain as he hit the ground uncomfortably, but kept thinking about Ianto. He wasn't in the kitchen, because that was the first thing he saw when he entered.

_Lounge!_ Jack thought and ran to the room on his left. Then he saw him. Ianto was unconscious, led on his side, burn marks scorching his body and tearing his suit. Jack wasted no time scooping his lover into his arms and running in the direction of the exit.

Tosh and Owen watched in amazement as Jack ran out of the fire and smoke, carrying Ianto in his arms and coughing heavily. He looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could get a word out, there was a devastating boom and the ground shook. Jack and Ianto fell to the ground, Jack twisting his body so Ianto wouldn't hurt himself further.

"Jack!" Tosh cried and ran to where the two men lay. Jack coughed again, obviously inhaling a lot of smoke.

"Owen. Take Ianto, please." Jack gasped between coughs. Owen didn't know what to do so he just followed his Captain's orders, taking Ianto and carrying him back to the SUV. Jack coughed harder, and then it all went black.

* * *

When Jack woke, the first thing he could think about was Ianto. He looked around frantically. He was in hospital by the looks of it. Either that or Owen had really outdone himself in converting the autopsy bay, like he said he would, but something told him it was the first option.

"Ianto?" he tried to call out, but his voice was hoarse and broken. "Ianto?" he tried again, suddenly starting into a fit of coughing. Owen ran into the room. (Well, bed with a curtain around it.)

"Jack, look at me, it's Owen. The doctor's saw I was a doctor and from Torchwood and they've given me a ward to use until you and Ianto get better. Ok?"

"Yeah, where's Ianto?" Jack's voice was a harsh whisper.

"Jack…"

"Where's Ianto?" he tried to yell but his voice broke again. Owen watched as his Captain fell apart, tears flowing down his cheeks, eyes puffy and red. He really cared for the Teaboy, Owen realised.

"Jack, he's ok. Look, he's here." Owen pulled back the curtain for Jack to see. Ianto was led on his side in a bed to Jack's left. He'd obviously woken up at some point because he was sleeping facing Jack, one arm over the bed, the other under his head. Jack smiled. He looked so at peace, it was almost heart breaking to know how close he was to losing him.

"Owen, move me closer." Jack rasped. Owen stared blankly at him.

"Look, mate. I don't think…" he started, turning his back to Jack. "It's probably best if you…"

"Owen, Please…" Owen took another look at his Captain. He was weakened, desperate and frightened, pleading him to see his lover. Owen couldn't stand it. Who was he to deny his Captain his wish after what they had just been through?

"Sure thing." He nodded before pushing Jack's bed as close to Ianto's as he could get him. Jack reached out and grabbed Ianto's hand, soothingly rubbing circles with his thumb. Jack smiled as Ianto stirred, keeping his eyes shut.

"Jack?" Ianto coughed as he slowly opened his eyes, adjusting them to the light, and rubbing circles on Jack's hand in response. Jack could have cried. Ianto's sweet welsh voice was broken and hoarse, much like his own, and his usually blue eyes were a dull grey. "What happened?" Ianto could barely keep his eyes open.

"There was an explosion… through a rift… that opened in your flat…" Jack explained, trying to compose his voice. "Tosh and I arrived… and I pulled you out… You… you could have…" Jack could feel the tear well up in his eyes. Ianto was suddenly wide awake.

"But I didn't Jack. You saved me." Ianto put a hand to Jack's face, cupping his cheek. "I love you, Jack." Ianto smiled.

"I love you too, Ianto." Jack smiled back. Ianto wore a genuine smile. "Hey, Yan?"

"Yeah, Jack?" Ianto shifted to get comfortable in his bed, still holding Jack's hands. His eyes were almost shut.

"Would now be a good time… to tell you I broke the coffee machine?"

"No." Ianto mumbled. Jack grinned.

"Not like you can… do anything about it." Jack tried to laugh. Ianto squeezed Jack's hand.

"Jack?" Ianto's eyes were still grey and dull, but full of fear.

"What's wrong, Yan?" Jack rubbed Ianto's hand with his thumb. Ianto closed his eyes.

"'m scared, Jack." Ianto whimpered.

"Ianto, I'm her for you… always. I'll keep you safe." Jack removed his hand from Ianto's and gripped Ianto's bed with both hands, pulling the two beds together. Jack removed the metal bars from the sides of the beds and shifted over to Ianto's bed, wrapping his arms around Ianto's waist as Ianto curled up against his body, hiding his face in Jack's chest. "You ok?" Jack asked. Ianto nodded against his chest and Jack pulled him closer.

* * *

Owen stood, forgotten, watching the two lovers as they tried to re-assure each other. He nearly stepped forward to stop them when Jack grabbed the side of Ianto's bed and pulled them closer, but stopped when he saw how Ianto's scared expression melted away and the blue in his eyes returned, he decided to go and get them some food. Seeing how weak they were, they would need food, along with plenty of rest.

When Owen came back, with a tray of fruit, toast and water, he nearly dropped the tray. Jack and Ianto were both sat up in the bed, Ianto was crying into Jack's chest as Jack had his arms around his, gently humming and repeating words of comfort. Jack was now fully healed and his voice wasn't as rough as it had been before-hand. Ianto, however, looked a state.

Ianto was shaking as he sobbed into Jack's chest. His body was scarred with burns and cuts and his hair was scruffy. His usually tidy suit, which he had changed into after the nightmare and decided not to go back to sleep, was left scorched and torn, holes burnt into the fabric. Jack looked at Owen in concern, but the look in his eyes warned Owen not to interfere, so Owen pulled up a chair and sat in a corner, nibbling on some of the toast from the tray.

* * *

Half an hour later, the sobbing had subsided. Jack and Ianto were both asleep in each other's arms, half sitting up in Ianto's bed. Owen was sat reading '50 shades of grey' and Tosh had popped in to see how the boys were all doing. Tosh had decided to stay with Owen and together they shared a pizza, watching as Jack and Ianto slept peacefully. Owen sighed.

He decided he would take it easy on the Tea-Boy in the future, and Jack, and even thought about his chances with Tosh and considered asking her out the next day, but most of all, he realised that what Jack and Ianto had was sacred and he respected that now. Even in the face of death, they stood strong for one another and when one fell apart, the other was there to pick up the pieces.

**Hoped you liked it! Please review! :D**


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